Bungie Leadership Became Nervous After Marathon Reveal And NDA Was Lifted To Shift Negative Narrative, Report Claims

Expert Verified By

The Negative Reaction Of Players Worried Bungie!

Story Highlight
  • A new report claims that the Bungie leadership grew nervous after the negative reception to the Marathon reveal. 
  • The studio allegedly lifted the NDA for the upcoming closed alpha tests for the game to shift the fans’ negative perception.
  • The game’s development is following a tight timetable because of a short deadline, which could be problematic for the launch.

Everyone was excited for Marathon, but fans’ perception started shifting when the original game director quit Bungie last year. Since then, many developers also left for Sony’s other projects, and the extraction shooter’s development was rumored not to be going well. 

A new report now suggests that the Bungie leadership became nervous after the predominantly negative reception to the Marathon reveal. However, the studio is trying to use the upcoming closed alpha tests to combat the growing narrative.

Why it matters: The current reports and player reception suggest that Bungie’s Marathon might be in trouble even before it is out. However, the closed alpha tests will confirm how well the extraction shooter holds up.

Marathon
Players have criticized Marathon for its unique art style and generic gameplay.

As clarified by Forbes‘ Paul Tassi’s sources, the NDA has been lifted for these closed alpha tests to let players get the first deep look into Marathon after the reveal footage. Many are expected to play and stream the title for others to see online, which might shift the narrative.

Bungie expects to benefit from the players’ feedback to ensure Marathon is ready for launch after five short months. The credible Marathon reporter also suggests that open beta tests might happen near the release period in August this year. 

And as rumored, Marathon will cost $40 to be in the same vein as Concord and Helldivers 2, despite the criticisms to make it an F2P experience. Paul elaborates that Bungie has no plans for that, nor is it feasible this late into development anyway.

Bungie Marathon
Many fans were hoping for a more traditional Marathon sequel instead of an extraction shooter.

If Marathon fails to impress closed alpha testers, the current negative narrative is expected to spiral out of control. Many fans also believe that the extraction shooter is expected to flop like Concord rather than achieve moderate success.

The report also mentions that Marathon is following a tight timeline because of a short launch window, which could spell disaster for its endgame content. 

Do you think the upcoming closed alpha tests can shift the growing negative perception around Marathon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

Black Ops 7 Beta Struggles on Steam – Player Count Nearly 5x Lower Than Battlefield 6 Beta

According to SteamDB, Black Ops 7 beta player count only topped at about 100K players, compared to Battlefield 6 beta's over 500K.

Activision Claims 97% Of Black Ops 7 Cheaters Are Banned Within 30 Minutes

97% of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 cheaters were banned within 30 minutes of signing in, while only 1% made it into the game.

Silent Hill 3 Remake Reportedly Coming in 2028 as Bloober Team Works on Resident Evil-Inspired New IP

Bloober Team is rumored to be working on a Silent Hill 3 remake and a new Resident Evil-inspired IP, with releases expected in 2026 and 2028.

Battlefield 6: EA Promises 120 FPS Performance on Consoles and Free DLC Support

Battlefield 6 to support 120FPS, and alongside, EA to give out a free DLC titled 'Covert Operations' during Season 1.

Microsoft Reportedly Scrapped Its Xbox Handheld After AMD’s Shocking Demands

A new report reveals that the first-party Xbox handheld was cancelled because AMD demanded 10 million sales to develop a custom SoC.